Book about Yeager Airport, Charleston aviation to be released next month

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — May 15 is the release date for a new book about the history of Charleston’s Yeager Airport.

The book, titled “Yeager Airport and Charleston Aviation”, was written by the airport’s Assistant Director Nick Keller.

“We had all these photographs laying around and I just thought ‘this is a waste.’ Let’s get these photographs out there for the public to see,” Keller said.

Keller, who has worked at the airport for 12 years, said he found about 600 photos in airport’s archives dating back to 1912. He said he included about 200 photos in the book.

The book covers the history of aviation in Charleston and the Kanawha Valley from the first airplane flight in the early 1900s up until 2000.

“When the airport was build, it was actually designed to have a third runway running from where general aviation goes across the International Guard ramp,” Keller said. “It’s just interesting to see the general aviation used to be where the parking garages are now — how the airport evolved into really being a regional hub for air commerce.”

Keller said he also searched for more information through the West Virginia State University archives. While there, he said he found an interesting piece of history from the 1930s when the college had a civilian pilot training program.

“There were a lot of African American students who were in that that then went to Tuskegee, Alabama and became Tuskegee Airman of World War II, so that’s something that I’d really like to be exposed,” he said.

The book includes history about the West Virginia Air National Guard and every airport that existed in the region, Keller said.

To pre-order the book for $21.99, visit Amazon.com or a local book store.